Anyone who just half-know me, knows that I’m not a sports fan. I don’t like any kind of sports involving a ball or any Identified Flying Objects. Also, I’m more than scared of any gliding/sliding activity. So, I basically only do horse riding and sometimes go to the gym to move from my couch.

At Whitworth, unfortunately, no horses but a gym. Free for every student (well, it’s included in the tuition fees but as an exchange I didn’t pay them, so it’s free). Other amazing open: it’s open all day long: from 6a.m. to 10p.m. during the week, from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturdays and even from 2 to 10 p.m. on Sunday so no one has excuses not to go because it’s closed.

The URec is primarily a normal gym, with all the machines you need, to get muscles and stay in shapes but it’s not only about simple workout. In the building, there is also a small inside running track, a climbing wall and 3 courts.

The running track is upstairs kind of a mezzanine over the rest of the gym. t is quite useful since Spokane is a snowy place and you preferably don’t want to run in the snow or stop your practice for 2 months because of the weather.

Then, there’s a climbing wall accessible all the time for bouldering (climbing without rope and so not that high), otherwise, you can go when instructors are present so that at first, they can teach you how to get secure and then they can help you climb higher. I personally didn’t go climbing here since I already did it in high school, but this is an awesome opportunity for a lot of people to try it for free.

Last, there are 3 courts where you can either do volley-ball or basket-ball or anything you want. Those are also open all the time, so you can just come with friends and take a court. It’s easy and still free. Also, those court are not used by the “professional” teams since there are other buildings for the practice of all the official sports team. The only thing official that happens on those court is “intra-mural” an amateur competition happening between teams within Whitworth. At the beginning f the year, you can sign up with friends to be part of a team and you then compete some weekends with other teams, just for fun.

The last two things that URec organize are group outdoor trip like hiking, mountain biking and paddling. Actually, I, tried one hike and you can learn about it here. And last, but not least, there are also some group fitness classes given by students also organized by URec, I, for example, go to a Pilates class every Sunday. It’s a lot of fun, I’m kind of sore for 3 days after that but it’s really good and I advise it.